296

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.

IX.

1688 .

temperate malice which inflicts the deepest wounds, declared■ that he must be excused from setting his hand to any politicaldocument. “I and my brethren, Sir,” he said, “have alreidysmarted severely for meddling with affairs of state; ana weshall be very cautious how we do so again. We oncesub-scribed a petition of the most harmless kind: we preserted itin the most respectful manner; and we found that we hat com-mitted a high offence. We were saved from ruin onlyby themerciful protection of God. And, Sir, the ground thea takenby your Majesty’s Attorney and Solicitor was that out ofParliament, we were private men, and that it wascriminalpresumption in private men to meddle with politic. Theyattacked us so fiercely that for my part I gave mysef over forlost.” “I thank you for that, my Lord of Canterbiry,” saidthe King; “I should have hoped that you wou’l not havethought yourself lost by falling into my hands.” Soli a speechmight havebecome the mouth of a merciful sovceign, but itcame with a bad grace from a prince who had buued a womanalive for harbouring one of his flying enemies ,from a princeround whose knees his own nephew had clungn vain agoniesof supplication. The Archbishop was not tcbe so silenced.He resumed his story, and recounted the isults which thecreatures of the Court had offered to the Ctrch of England,among which some ridicule thrown on his o'u style occupieda conspicuous place. The King had notb’g to say but thatthere was no use in repeating old grievance and that he hadhoped that these things had been quite figotten. He, whonever forgot the smallest injury that head suffered, couldnot understand how others should remdber for a few weeksthe most deadly injuries that he had infltcd.

At length the conversation came ffk to the point fromwhich it had wandered. The King fitted on having fromthe Bishops a paper declaring their alv rrence of the Prince’senterprise. They, with many profte ons of the most sub-missive loyalty, pertinaciously refi/d. The Prince, theysaid, asserted that he had been inv/d by temporal as well asby spiritual peers. The imputation^- 8 common. Why shouldnot the purgation be common also “I eee how it is,” said